There's always room for another

Chapter 20: 3.7 - the trials

The past two weeks had been hell for Yuna. Absolute. Fucking. Hell.

And it wasn't that a part of her hadn't been prepared for how tough it would be to deal with Lala again -

(in fact, that had been one of the only things Yuna had been focused on, really)

(Lala appeared in her dreams often, morphing between a smile and something else entirely)

No, what Yuna wasn't prepared for was the media frenzy it would become. It was expected, Ining had tried to reassure her. Yuna's disappearance had been the most covered event in a century. There was no precedent before for something this...

"Crazy." Yuna had supplied, crossing her arms in the chair. Ining sighed from next to her.

"That wasn't the word I was going for, but sure." Ining tapped her fingers on the table distractedly. The detective taking their statement had gone to get them some more water while they'd taken a break from the retelling. Ining couldn't help but hope he'd stay away a bit longer. "The police have offered to give you a protection detail, if that's what you want. Two officers around your house to make sure none of the reporters give your family any trouble." Yuna considered the idea, but looked lost. "I'd suggest taking it," Ining suggested, keeping her voice matter-of-fact. Yuna needed some sort of direction right now, not a listening ear. "It's safer, and once the trial picks up for real it might even be necessary."

"And how long is that going to be?" Yuna glanced up at her worriedly. The private detective hummed in thought.

"Well, your lawyer says its a pretty open and shut case. Lala doesn't have good representation either. So it shouldn't be too long." The trial had been scheduled for the end of the month, and Ining was sure Yuna had to be reeling from how fast everything was going. The woman hadn't spoken much about how it was like to be back, very much the silent person Ining had found in that sleepy little town. She could only imagine how hard things were going.

Their contemplative silence was broken by Yuna's quiet murmur. "I'm sorry, what?" Ining had to lean in closer to really listen.

"I said, I'm scared." Yuna roughly pushed some hair out of her face. It was really growing out now, the hair growing past her shoulders. Yuna wished she could cut it again, but found that the way it shaped her face in a mirror was comforting. Helped things feel real, for some reason.

(Moon Byulyi used to have long hair.)

(Lala had taken that from her too.)

"That makes sense. I mean, I'd be worried if you weren't." Ining leaned back in her chair, keeping things light by letting her gaze travel the empty interrogation room. "It's okay to feel like this."

"I wish I wasn't, though." Frustrated. That was how Yuna felt right now. Frustrated, and powerless. Thinking of Lala made her feel like that same person in the first few days after she'd woken up in that apartment. Confused and afraid. Not knowing who she was, not knowing if anyone was looking for her. Believing that those things were out of her reach forever.

"I used to believe everything Lala said," Yuna said bitterly. "When she told me she didn't know who I was. That no one was looking for me. That going to the country was a good thing for me." She couldn't look at Ining. "She was lying, till the end. Even when we found her out. She - she genuinely thought she was doing me a favour. That it was all for me ." Yuna cleared her throat uneasily. "But that wasn't true either."

"Maybe to her it was." Ining shrugged. "What she did wasn't right or even okay, by any means. But she seemed to believe." Yuna gaped at her friend, stung. Ining managed a small smile. "But all that doesn't matter." Yuna stiffened when Ining rested a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Because she doesn't get to take that with her to prison. Your sense of safety, your instincts of knowing what was right for you - those things are still yours to keep."